Services back Microsoft probe

Published on July 20, 1995.

The three major online services are asking Congress to support a Justice Department investigation of Microsoft's new online service. Heads of America Online, Prodigy and CompuServe said at a Washington press conference Wednesday that linking theMicrosoft Network online service with the new Windows 95 software is unfair competition. A survey, commissioned by the online services and conducted by Luntz Research Cos., Arlington, Va., found that 83% of the 1,000 computer users asked would "favor action to ensure that there is competition" if "one company posed a direct threat to competition for online or Internet services." In addition, 82% said it was likely that Microsoft would become the dominant online provider if its online service were bundled with Windows 95.